TRAVEL: 10 'undiscovered' places

Here are ten 'undiscovered' getaway spots in the U.S. (each in a different state) that I personally recommend:

10. San Juan Islands / Port Townsend, WA
9 Jefferson, Texas -- East Texas B&B haven.
8. Frostburg, Maryland -- Welcome to Appalachia (go in February, during a snow)
7. Port Gibson, Mississippi -- neat Antebellum ruins (but stay in Natchez).
6. Manchester-by-the-Sea, MA -- take the drive north from Salem during the Fall.
5. Ogunquit, Maine -- artist's community
4. Cannon Beach, Oregon -- awesome rocks; great bistro (named "Bistro")
3. Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, CANADA (worth the drive over from Buffalo!)
2. Lehigh Valley, PA [Bethlehem-Easton]
1. Shepherdstown, WVA -- go for the playwright festival in July; stay and eat at the Bavarian Inn or the Yellow Brick Bank.

And three places I hope to add to the list one day:
Spillville, Iowa (Dvorak came all the way from Czechoslovakia to visit this place)
Staunton, VA (pronounced 'Stanton')
Block Island, RI

Acknowledgements

I have two people to thank for making this blog a reality:

1) my mother, who instilled in us Palmer kids in Pampa a deep love for movies--especially the movies of old Hollywood's Golden Age--by regaling us with stories of the stars and the films she saw in her youth;

and

2) twenty-year friend Lewie Jost, for graciously loaning me the computer equipment and internet access that I never would have paid for myself. And now that I have his cool DELL laptop, I can take it to Starbuck's, sit there all day (hoping somebody asks what I'm doing), and blog like a real professional! Thanks, Lewie!

BEST MOVIES OF 2005

RON’s TOP TEN MOVIE LIST for 2005

1. BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN
2. SYRIANA
3. CAPOTE
4. HUSTLE & FLOW
5. MUNICH
6. THE SQUID & THE WHALE
7. WALK THE LINE
8. SIN CITY
9. THE NEW WORLD
10. ME and YOU and EVERYONE WE KNOW

Honorable Mention (in order of preference):
King Kong
Layer Cake
A History of Violence
The Weather Man
Pride & Prejudice
Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Wear-Rabbit
Good Night & Good Luck
Shopgirl

'Ambitious failures'--NEW CATEGORY [much was expected; much less delivered.] Batman Begins
Cinderella Man
Crash
Harry Potter IV
Junebug
Kingdom of Heaven

'Saw & enjoyed'
The Constant Gardener
Dear Frankie
Match Point
Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith
Wedding Crashers

‘Saw & hated’
The Dying Gaul (worst movie of year!)
The Ballad of Jack and Rose
Ring Two (sorry, Naomi)

2005 -- Foreign Films & Docs

TOP SEVEN FOREIGN FILMS

1. THE SEA INSIDE - ESP (2004)
2. THE BEST OF YOUTH - ITA (two parts: six hours)
3. UP & DOWN - CZE
4. THE EDUKATORS - GER
5. SARABAND - SWE
6. NOBODY KNOWS - JPN
7. KINGS & QUEEN - FRA


TOP FIVE DOCUMENTARIES

1. BORN INTO BROTHELS (2004)
2. MARCH OF THE PENGUINS
3. GRIZZLY MAN
4. MONDOVINO
5. JESUS IS MAGIC (Sarah Silverman)

TRAVEL: Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley

The Trip: A weekend road trip to Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley
Adapted from a "Vacation in Lights" submission to The Washington Post by Ron Palmer)

• Who Went? One transplanted Texan intent on exploring the East Coast – one weekend at a time.
• Where? Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA (the ‘Tri-Cities of the Poconos’)
• When? Early November 2005
• Why? Why not? It has history, fall foliage, two fine universities (Lafayette & Lehigh--host of the Patriot League women’s soccer tourney that weekend) and . . . did I mention the leaves?
• Getting There Was . . . Easy, if you bypass Philadelphia (which I didn’t since I missed my exit and ended up seeing more of Philly than I wanted or needed.)
• I Gritted My Teeth Hardest When . . . I had to back up on the PA Turnpike to avoid a $2500 fine for going through the EasyPass Lane without an EasyPass.
• It Made It All Worth It When . . . I got to see 1 college football game, 2 concerts, 2 and-a-half soccer matches, the inside of 2 bars (okay, 3), and enough dead leaves to last me at least a year.
• I Can't Believe I . . . saw all of that from Friday to Monday.
• Things I Could Have Done Without. . . The strip malls, strip clubs, and OTB parlors that line busy Route 22 (connecting the three towns).
• Coolest Attraction: downtown Bethlehem’s historic old town: original and reconstructed buildings from the town’s 18th-century Moravian community, all within walking distance from my charming B&B, the Bethlehem Inn.
• To not look like a tourist, I . . . bought a Lafayette College t-shirt prior to their home football game against Colgate. That led to my . . .
• Most Embarrassing Moment: when two separate Colgate fans asked me for directions to the stadium (my cover was blown).
• Cheapest Thrill: That same Lafayette game: an alum handed me an extra ticket while I was standing in line (must have been the t-shirt!)
• Favorite Undiscovered Gem: The Cosmic Cup near the Lafayette campus, a student-friendly coffee bar that hosts live jazz on Saturday afternoons.
• Second-Favorite Undiscovered Gem: the ‘Tap Room’ bar at the Hotel Bethlehem; specifically, their Martini Menu. (I had a ‘Moulin Rouge’ –imagine an upscale Cosmo).
• Biggest Splurge: a front row seat to a concert by New York’s 20 year-old chanteuse Nellie McKay (who spent her teen years in the Valley) at Lehigh’s Zoellner Arts Center.
• Biggest Culture Shock: The Allentown Symphony Orchestra (the shock being that Allentown had culture). Seriously, they gave a fine performance of Beethoven’s Triple Concerto with guest artists the Claremont Trio, also from NY.
• Second Biggest Culture Shock: Spending one evening at the historic and college-friendly Tally Ho Tavern on Bethlehem’s bustling South Side; then spending the following night at the decidedly downscale (and proud of it) J.P. MacGrady’s Pub, with the blue-collared and multi-tattooed ‘townies.’ We had one thing in common, though: we were all rooting for the T.O.-less Eagles to beat the Redskins on Sunday night football (and we all left disappointed).
• Favorite Meal: Saturday night dinner at the Montague restaurant in downtown Easton, a converted department store turned upscale eatery and bar that converts to a club late nights. (The gregarious maitre-d, a CA transplant and father of the owner, gave me the scoop).
• Next Time I’ll . . . order the “Bourbon and Banana French Toast” at the Blue Sky Café next to the Lehigh campus: they come topped with bananas sautéed in bourbon. (The chef had taken them off the menu that morning because ‘the bananas weren’t ripe.’)
• Thing I Wish I'd Brought With Me . . . my own bananas.
--30--

BEST MOVIES OF 2004

RON’s TOP TEN MOVIES for 2004

1. SIDEWAYS
2. ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND
3. HOTEL RWANDA
4. KILL BILL: Vol. 2
5. MILLION DOLLAR BABY
6. THE AVIATOR
7. FINDING NEVERLAND
8. VERA DRAKE
9. FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS
10. BEFORE SUNSET>>walking around Paris for 80 minutes with Julie Delpy – now THAT’S a movie!

Honorable Mention (or the next eight, in order):
The Woodsman (with Kevin Bacon) – Control Room (doc) – The Dreamers (Bertolucci) – The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou –
(Tie): Fahrenheit 9/11 (doc) & The Passion of the Christ [because cinematically, both are the uncompromising vision of their creators (I don't get into politics when I'm rating a movie!)] - Tarnation (doc) - Kinsey

Saw & enjoyed (alpha-11):
Closer – Collateral – Harry Potter 3 – I (heart) Huckabees* –– The Machinist – Primer – Ray – Spiderman 2 – Stage Beauty – Troy – We Don’t Live Here Anymore*

* starring the lovely NAOMI WATTS

2004 -- FOREIGN FILMS

RON’s TOP TEN FOREIGN FILMS for 2004
** twice-as-good a year for foreign films than 2003 (when I had a Top Five list)

1. A VERY LONG ENGAGEMENT (France)
>>French gamine Audrey Tatou cracks the #1 spot for the second straight year!
2. The Motorcycle Diaries (Brazil)
3. Bad Education (Spain)
4. Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter … and Spring (Korea)
5. Since Otar Left… (Georgia)
(tie) The Return (Russia)
7. The Belvaux Trilogy (France) (“On the Run” / “An Amazing Couple” / “After the Life”)
8. Goodbye, Lenin! (Germany)
9. Distant (Turkey)
10. Twilight Samurai (Japan)

Honorable Mention:
Crimson Gold (Iran) – Strayed (France) – Intimate Strangers (France) – Hero (China) –Moolaade (Senegal) – Red Lights (France) – Zelary (Czech) –
The Story of the Weeping Camel (Mongolia) [this was NOT a documentary!]
-- and finally -- Zatoichi: The Blind Swordsman (Japan)
[the director who made the gay samurai movie is back with a samurai musical !! (sort-of)]

2004 -- The Worst of the Worst

THE WORST EIGHT MOVIES I SAW in 2004
Or: “Fifteen hours of my life I will never get back”
[in reverse order]

8. Shrek 2
7. The Ladykillers (with Tom Hanks)
6. Open Water
5. The Silence / Hour of the Wolf (both 1960s-era Ingmar Bergman)
4. Chaos (France 2001) -- a video rental
3. Two or Three Things I know about Her (France 1967: Jean-Luc Godard)
2. Goodbye, Dragon Inn (Taiwan 2003)
1. Songs from the Second Floor (Sweden 2000)

On a positive note: I saw the bottom three films for FREE (courtesy of Washington, DC museums).

BEST MOVIES OF 2003

RON’s TOP TEN MOVIES for 2003*
* outstanding year for movies

1. Kill Bill: Vol. 1
>>pure cinematic style! (not for the faint of heart)
2. Dirty, Pretty Things
3. Mystic River
4. 21 Grams
5. Spider
6. (3-way indie tie) American Splendor / Shattered Glass / The Station Agent
7. Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
8. In America
9. The Magdalene Sisters
10. Elephant
11. Dracula: Pages from a Virgin’s Diary
>>imagine a ballet filmed as if it were a silent movie--it works!!

Honorable Mention:
Cold Mountain / Finding Nemo / Girl with a Pearl Earring / House of Sand and Fog / Lost In Translation/ Master & Commander: The Far Side of the World.

Saw & enjoyed:
Bad Santa; The Cooler; Down with Love; The Good Thief; I Capture the Castle; Intolerable Cruelty; The Last Samurai; Laurel Canyon; Pieces of April; Pirates of the Caribbean; The Secret Lives of Dentists; Something’s Gotta Give.

Ambivalent towards: Le Divorce.

Saw & didn’t think much of:
Seabiscuit; Bend It Like Beckham; Big Fish; mona lisa smile; Veronica Guerin; Whale Rider.

Hated:
Matrix Reloaded; Swimming Pool; Sylvia; And now…ladies & gentlemen…

2003 -- Vivre le France! (Foreign & Docs)

TOP FIVE FOREIGN FILMS
* Vivre le France! [en bleu]*

1. He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not (France) with the lovely Audrey Tatou
2. The Cuckoo (Russia)
3. Nowhere In Africa (Germany)
4. Irreversible (France) [WARNING: unwatchably violent]
5. L’homme du train ("The Man on the Train") Patrice Leconte: France.

Honorable Mention:
The Barbarian Invasions (Canada) / L’auberge espagnole (France) / Jet Lag (France) / Vendredi soir ("Friday Night") Claire Denis: France.

Hated:
Eloge de l’amour ("In Praise of Love") Jean-Luc Godard: France.


TOP FIVE DOCUMENTARIES

1. Etre et avoir (“To be and to have”) France.
2. Bus 174
3. Spellbound
4. Fog of War
5. Winged Migration

Honorable Mention:
My Architect / Rivers and Tides / Absolut Warhola

Saw & didn’t think much of:
Capturing the Friedmans / Cinemania / Gigantic: The Story of Two Johns.